CROSSING THE LINE

Crossing The Line by Christiane France ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-109-9 (Electronic) Cover: Trace Edward Zaber http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/CrossingLine.html Blurb: Rather than embarrass his wealthy family by admitting he’s gay, Alexander Derkeston solved the problem by publicly conforming to their old fashioned, upright, uptight lifestyle, and inventing a second, shadowy life on the side. Even after his parents are killed in a traffic accident and the pretence is no longer necessary, Alexander still continues to follow family tradition and keep his private life private. Then the family chauffeur retires, and Wil Forrest is hired in his place. Wil is young, hot, sexy, almost certainly gay, and Alexander wants him. Desperately! But Wil is an employee, and when he suggests the two of them go clubbing together, Alexander is horrified. Old Abner Derekston had two rules the family has always lived by...one, never cross the line by getting overly familiar with the help, not if you want to maintain their respect, and two, if you want something, go for it. Is there a way Alexander can have his cake and eat it, too? Excerpt: Wil was still finding it hard to believe he’d finally got up the nerve to challenge his boss into showing his true colors. He hadn’t expected Alexander to go along with his suggestion, but in the end, the surprise had been on him. It had been quite the shock when he realized the man he worked for, the refined, elegantly attired, slightly aloof owner of Derekston’s Department Stores, had morphed into the hot looking dude who’d approached him in Roby’s, or that he was here with him now. He’d sensed from day one the man was living a lie and, in consequence, leading a lonely, miserable life. Wil knew all about being lonely, but he needed the job and he knew finding something else that paid this well and had the added bonus of a place to live would be close to impossible. Outwardly, the differences between the two versions of the man, although dramatic enough to fool most people, were mostly superficial, a simple matter of clothing and hairstyle. He still came across as a class act. The air of elegance Alexander wore like a second skin was something he’d been born with and couldn’t lose if he tried. On the inside, though, Wil had a feeling the two were worlds apart. Instead of the uptight, upright owner of a lucrative business who appeared to live in a castle atop a mountain and breathe rarified air, the version Wil knew and worked for, this man came across as real. In other words, he was relaxed to the point of being himself rather than what he thought people wanted him to be. His ruminations ended when the boss came back with the ice, picked up one of the bottles and poured a little of the contents into a medium-size balloon glass. Wil walked up behind him and put his arms loosely around his waist. “To tell the truth, the only thing I really want right now is you.” “Yeah, I know. I feel the same about you.” Alexander rubbed his ass slowly against Wil’s arousal. Then, taking Wil’s hand, he pressed it briefly against his own rigid shaft before handing Wil the glass and pouring a second shot for himself. “But waiting makes it even better.” “As in a nice slow build up to the main event? Works for me.” Wil chuckled, then he sniffed the contents of his glass and took a small sip. “I don’t usually drink hard stuff, except on special occasions.” “If you want some ice, help yourself.” The boss took a small taste of his own drink and put the glass back on the tray. “I don’t drink much either. The occasional beer after work or a glass of wine with dinner is about all. But tonight, we’re both a little tense, and I find cognac is always good for taking the edge off.” He smiled and rubbed the pad of his thumb along Wil’s lower lip, sending Wil’s imagination into places he’d never expected to go. At least not with the guy he worked for, despite the fact he took up ninety percent of Wil’s waking thoughts and a hundred percent of his dreams. “Anyway, I think our first time together like this should count as a special occasion. Agreed?” “I guess. By the way, what do I call you? Alexander?” “My close friends call me Lex.” “Okay, then Lex it is.” For Wil, being alone like this with the man of his dreams was the equivalent of being granted his own personal miracle. He’d had a few brief affairs and more one-offs than he could count over the years, but there had never been anyone he’d thought of as special until he’d met Alexander, or Lex as he wanted to be called. No one he’d ever truly cared about the way he cared about Lex. He wanted to tell him how he felt, but since he couldn’t do that without sounding like a jerk, he captured Lex’s thumb between his teeth and gently sucked the tip. Then, grasping Lex’s wrist, he drew the digit into his mouth, laving it with his tongue until Lex’s eyes drifted shut and he felt a shiver race through Lex’s body. Releasing Lex’s hand, he pulled him close, inhaling his scent and branding it on his memory. In view of what he now realized was Lex’s double life, he was more than a little afraid they’d never have more than this one time together. It wasn’t possible for Lex to acknowledge him in his real life, and he couldn’t imagine him restricting his private life by making Wil or anyone else a permanent part of it. As Lex’s housekeeper was always so fond of saying, It is what is, and he’d do well to keep the realities of the situation in mind rather than already start dreaming about a next time that wasn’t too likely to happen. Lex’s tongue began investigating the outer rim of Wil’s ear, making it Wil’s turn to shiver. “How do you feel about taking these drinks to the bedroom and getting naked?” Lex suggested, his voice dropping to a husky whisper Wil found incredibly sexy. “I thought you wanted to wait,” he replied, lifting his chin a tad so the other man could reach the sensitive spot directly beneath. “Well…” He unfastened Wil’s jeans, and Wil drew in his breath as he felt the touch of Lex’s cool fingers taking possession of his dick. “Going by what I have here, I’m thinking waiting is way overrated. How do you feel about it?” The blood pounded in his ears and his legs felt a little shaky, but as Lex released him, he managed to expel the air from his lungs in one slow, easy stream. “It’s way overrated in my opinion. So why don’t you just lead the way, babe.” Cool mysteries and hot romance - http://www.chrisgrover.ca http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/bio_France.html Latest Release: THE RIVALS - http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure Coming soon: ANYTHING YOU CAN DO http://www.myspace.com/185513895 http://twitter.com/chrisgrover2 www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Grover/1479706280